Amidst the suffocating darkness of a moonless night, a young woman traversed the shadowy expanse, her heart drumming a frantic rhythm in her chest, echoing the pulse of her dread. Clothed in tattered rags that clung desperately to her frail frame, her garments were marred by the stains of grime and the remnants of her frantic escape, each strand of fabric fluttering like a ghost in the chill night air. Each tentative step felt like a plunge into an abyss of uncertainty, her senses ablaze with the haunting specters of the traumatic memories surrounding the man who had mercilessly torn her parents from her life. The cold bite of the night wrapped around her like a suffocating shroud, yet it was the sharp, adrenaline-fueled fear coursing through her veins that propelled her forward. She was driven by an unwavering resolve to shatter the chains of the nightmare that gripped her mind, her footfalls resonating a desperate yearning for freedom from the terrors that pursued her just beyond the veil of darkness.
She sought the one man who personified both her protector and her shadow—a steadfast guardian who had enveloped her in fierce love and forged a shield against life’s relentless cruelties. For years, he had been her unwavering anchor amidst a stormy sea of uncertainty, a beacon of strength and solace when the world outside threatened to swallow her whole. But fate had conspired against her with cruel precision when he stumbled upon her hidden away in a decrepit hotel room, a forlorn place overseen by a sleazy proprietor whose greed morphed into malevolence. This treacherous informant, wretched in his greed, had betrayed her trust, revealing her sanctuary to the very monster who thrived on her suffering. Now, with every flicker of movement haunting the obscurity around her and the whispers of her past swirling ominously in her mind, she pressed on, fueled by the flickering hope of safety and the tantalizing promise of reunion with the one man she believed could guide her from the dark abyss threatening to engulf her. Her protector, her shadow, her husband—Shiki.
